Hospitality, Restaurant and Event Manager

52.09 Hospitality Administration/Management · SOC 11-9081

⚠⚠⚠ Lodging managers earn $69,250 and food service managers $69,390 — $140 apart — but 72% of employers want a bachelor's for the first and 30% will take a high school diploma for the second. ⚠⚠ And food service management is SEVEN TIMES the occupation: 352,800 jobs against 52,000, with 42,000 annual openings against 5,400. In the industry Florida is built on, the degree buys you the smaller half at the same money.

Licensure and accreditation

⚠⚠ NOTHING IN THIS FAMILY IS LICENSED, AND THE DEGREE IS NOT THE GATE. O*NET's employer data: lodging managers 72% bachelor's; food service managers 30% high school diploma, 21% postsecondary certificate, 19% associate degree; meeting and event planners 41% bachelor's. ⚠ Only the lodging side treats the degree as standard, and lodging is the smallest of the three occupations. ⚠⚠⚠ WHAT THE BACHELOR'S ACTUALLY BUYS is the corporate and lodging track — brand management roles, revenue management, multi-property and head-office posts — and speed of promotion. It does not buy entry, because entry in this industry is a job, and everyone starts on a shift. ⚠ The operational credentials that DO get named in postings are short and cheap: food-safety manager certification (ServSafe or an equivalent recognised in Florida), responsible-vendor alcohol training, and for events the CMP, which requires documented experience rather than a degree. ⚠⚠ Florida requires a certified food protection manager on staff at licensed food service establishments, so that certification is a practical requirement of the job rather than an optional extra — get it early, it is inexpensive, and it appears in entry-level postings.

⚠⚠⚠ The same money, and one of them asks for a degree

Role	SOC	2025 median	Employed	Openings/yr	Growth 2024–34	Entry
Lodging manager	11-9081	$69,250	⚠ 52,000	⚠ 5,400	average (3–4%)	⚠⚠ 72% bachelor's
✅ Food service manager	11-9051	✅ $69,390	✅ 352,800	✅ 42,000	✅ faster (5–6%)	✅ 30% high school, 21% certificate, 19% associate
Meeting and event planner	13-1121	$61,160	155,800	15,500	faster (5–6%)	41% bachelor's

⚠⚠⚠ Read the top two rows together, because they are the whole decision. The medians differ by $140. But food service management is seven times the occupation, has nearly eight times the annual openings, is growing faster, and mostly does not ask for a degree.

⚠⚠ That does not make the degree worthless — it makes it a purchase with a specific purpose. It buys the corporate and lodging track: brand roles, revenue management, multi-property and head-office posts, and faster promotion. It does not buy entry, because entry here is a job and everybody starts on a shift.

⚠⚠ Florida's hospitality education is in two cities

Institution	Credentials (2023)
Florida International University	667
University of Central Florida	590
Florida State University	224
Valencia College	64
Florida Atlantic University	51

⚠⚠⚠ FIU and UCF together are 72% of the state's output — which is Miami and Orlando, which is the cruise industry and the theme parks. The education sits exactly where the industry does, and that is an advantage if you are there and a relocation decision if you are not.

⚠ The short credentials are spread far more widely. Hotel/Motel Administration is 251 credentials at 12 institutions, all certificates, led by Valencia at 97 and Broward at 53; restaurant and food service management adds 105 at 13; the catering and combined-operations codes another 49 at 9. Those are state and technical colleges, and they are the cheap way in.

⚠⚠⚠ Event planning is one university

Meeting and Event Planning is 157 credentials at TWO Florida public institutions — 140 of them UCF bachelor's and 17 FAU certificates.

⚠ It is the narrowest door in the family and effectively a single programme. But the occupation is 155,800 jobs with 15,500 annual openings and only 41% of employers reporting a bachelor's — so most event planners did not come through it.

⚠⚠ The credential the industry actually names is the CMP, and it requires documented experience rather than a degree. The realistic route is to work events — hotels, convention centres, venues, associations — and credential afterwards. HFT2750 The Event Industry is carried by 13 Florida institutions if you want the coursework cheaply.

⚠⚠ The certification that is a practical requirement

Florida requires a certified food protection manager on staff at licensed food service establishments. That is not an optional extra; it appears in entry-level postings, it is inexpensive, and it is a day.

⚠ Get it before you need it. Along with responsible-vendor alcohol training, it is the cheapest thing on this page that changes whether you are hireable, and it costs a fraction of a single course.

⚠ A warning about the course numbers in this subject

This site's own catalogue work has found the HFT prefix to be among the most confused in Florida. Three documented cases:

HFT4274 — the statewide title says Resort Management; FGCU teaches Vacation Ownership and Timeshare and FIU Short-Term Rental / Vacation Ownership. Two institutions agreeing with each other against the state label.
HFT4252 — the statewide title says employee wellbeing and the statewide description is entirely hotel and resort management. UCF teaches the title, Pensacola State teaches the description.
⚠⚠⚠ HFT3271 — statewide Condo/Resort Management, and the three carriers teach nightclub management (FIU), club management (FGCU) and spa management (UWF). Four readings, and no carrier teaches the statewide one.

⚠⚠ The practical instruction: in this prefix, register by reading the syllabus rather than the title, and on transfer send the syllabus rather than the course number. An evaluator matching HFT3271 to HFT3271 is matching two different subjects.

Necessary skills

Cost control. Food cost, labour cost, occupancy — the managers who hold these move up and the ones who do not, do not. FSS2500 Food Service Costing and Controls exists for this.
Scheduling a workforce that turns over constantly, in an industry where that is the normal condition rather than a crisis.
Revenue management — pricing rooms and covers against demand. The highest-leverage skill in the industry and the most transferable.
Service recovery. O*NET puts resolving guest complaints first among a lodging manager's tasks, and it is a taught skill rather than a temperament.
Regulatory literacy: food safety, alcohol, accessibility, employment law.
Stamina for the hours. Evenings, weekends and holidays are when this industry works, and the pay does not carry a premium for them.

Advice

⚠⚠⚠ Do not buy the bachelor's to become a restaurant manager. Same median as lodging, seven times the jobs, and 70% of employers do not ask for one. Buy it if you want the corporate and lodging track, and know that is what you are buying.

⚠⚠ Get the food protection manager certification now. It is required on staff at licensed establishments in Florida, it takes a day, and it appears in entry-level postings.

⚠ If you are outside Miami or Orlando, price the relocation honestly. FIU and UCF are 72% of the degree output. A state-college certificate near home plus a job may beat a distant bachelor's plus debt, especially given what the food service numbers say.

⚠⚠ Learn revenue management deliberately, whatever your title. It is the one skill in this industry that scales with the size of the property and travels between hotels, restaurants, cruise and attractions.

And take the internship courses seriously rather than as a formality. HFT2942 Hospitality Internship II is carried by 10 Florida institutions, and in an industry that hires on demonstrated shifts rather than transcripts, the placement is the credential.

Programs that lead here

A program is a field of study, one level above a degree — each page says which degrees it covers and which Florida institutions award them. ⚠ The count is institutions that awarded a credential in the field in 2023; it is not a promise that a school runs this exact degree, and it counts something different from the course-based list further down.

Hospitality and Tourism Management 23 Florida schools

The family — 23 Florida public institutions across six codes. ⚠⚠ The general bachelor's is concentrated: FIU 667 and UCF 590 are 72% of the state's output. ⚠ The short certificates (Hotel/Motel Administration, 251 credentials at 12 institutions, all certificates) are spread far more widely and are the cheap way in.

Business Administration and Management 45 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The more portable substitute, and one a great many hospitality managers actually hold. A business degree with operations and finance coursework competes for the same corporate posts and is taught at far more Florida institutions. ⚠ Hospitality wins on industry knowledge and internship networks; business wins if you might leave the industry.

Marketing 21 Florida schools

⚠ Revenue management — pricing rooms and covers against demand — is the highest-leverage skill in this industry and it is a marketing discipline. HFT2500 Hospitality and Tourism Marketing is carried by 10 Florida institutions.

Related, but not a route in

Programs worth knowing about if you are considering this career — ⚠ they do not lead to it. Each row says what it is and is not.

Accounting 50 Florida schools

⚠ Named because this is a margin business: food cost, labour cost and occupancy are what a manager is measured on, and FSS2500 Food Service Costing and Controls is where Florida teaches it.

Health Care Administration 24 Florida schools

⚠ Not a route — named as an honest comparison for a student weighing service-sector management degrees. $123,860 against lodging's $69,250, 24 Florida institutions with 20 state colleges carrying the upper-division work, and no two-city concentration.

Careers similar to this one

Careers filed under the same broad field in the federal classification (BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES) — often they share early coursework, and each row says which group it is filed in. ⚠ Worth reading BEFORE you commit: switching between neighbours is cheap early and expensive late.

Accountant and CPA Accounting and Related Services

Accountants and auditors prepare, examine and attest to the financial records organisations run and are judged on — statements, tax, controls and the audits that make the numbers credible. ⚠ A median of $83,680 with 124,200 openings a year, one of the largest steady hiring markets on this site. ⚠⚠⚠ And the fact that should shape a Florida student's plan: Florida still requires 150 SEMESTER HOURS for a CPA licence while other states have moved, and bills to change it have passed the Florida Senate unanimously TWICE and died in the House both times. This page covers three related roles.

Construction Manager Construction Management

Construction managers plan, price, schedule and deliver building projects — coordinating trades, controlling cost, enforcing code and safety, and answering for the programme. ⚠ A median of $114,990 with 9% growth, on a route with no licence gate at entry — compare architecture at $99,280 after an accredited degree, 3,740 supervised hours and a six-division exam. ⚠⚠⚠ And the finding that matters most in Florida: a construction degree is worth THREE YEARS of site experience toward a contractor licence under s. 489.111. This page covers three related roles, and two routes that look alike and end in different places.

Financial Analyst Finance and Financial Management Services

Financial analysts value companies and securities, build the models firms decide by, and measure the risk of being wrong. ⚠ A median of $103,570 with 7% growth. ⚠⚠ It is a CHOICE path, but a concentrated one: counted degrees put business at about half of working analysts, with the social sciences — economics among them — the next largest block. ⚠⚠⚠ And the finding that should redirect some readers: the ANALYTICAL roles in this family are growing at 7% while the ADVISORY ones grow at 1%, despite paying the same or more. This page covers four roles.

Human Resources Specialist Human Resources Management and Services

Human resources specialists recruit and hire, administer pay and benefits, interpret employment law and policy, and handle the disputes and complaints that come with employing people. ⚠ A median of $75,940 across 939,700 jobs, all of it growing. ⚠⚠ It is the most open CHOICE path on this site: business supplies only about a quarter of HR workers, PSYCHOLOGY is the second largest feeder, and 16% have no degree beyond some college. ⚠⚠⚠ And the money is in progression, not credentials — the step to HR manager is worth $73,340 and asks for experience, not another degree.

Logistics and Supply Chain Analyst Business Administration, Management and Operations

Logisticians decide where goods sit, how they move and what it costs — purchasing, inventory, transportation and network design. ⚠ It is the fastest-growing and best-paid occupation in this cluster (a median of $82,320, growth of 18% on the latest federal projection), and there is no single required major: 75% hold a bachelor's, and business, supply chain and engineering all lead here. So does the military.

Marketing Manager and Sales Professional Marketing

⚠⚠⚠ $166,790, among the highest medians of any bachelor's-entry occupation on this site — beside computer and information systems management at $175,140 and computer hardware engineering at $161,740 — and 80% of employers report a bachelor's rather than a master's. ⚠⚠ The way in is the other half of this page: market research and marketing specialist roles number 941,700 with 87,200 openings a year, and sales representatives 1,571,400 with 123,400.

Real Estate Agent, Broker and Analyst Real Estate

⚠⚠⚠ The licence to sell property in Florida is 63 classroom hours — about a week and a half — and employers report 52% accepting a high school diploma and 22% less than that. ⚠⚠ Meanwhile Florida's universities award 408 real estate credentials a year, 138 of them MASTER'S. Those two facts describe different jobs that share a word, and choosing between them is what this page is for.

Small Business Owner and Entrepreneur Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

⚠⚠⚠ Half of new US businesses are gone in five years and two-thirds in ten — BLS tracks it, and the rate barely moves between cohorts: 79.6% survive year one, 50.2% survive five, 34.7% survive ten. ⚠⚠ Every entrepreneurship page should open with that and almost none does. ⚠ Florida's own answer is a cheap certificate rather than a degree: 86% of the 2,102 credentials in this field are certificates of under a year.

Systems Analyst and IT Manager Management Information Systems and Services

⚠⚠⚠ Computer and information systems managers earn $175,140 with 55,600 openings a year — and 26% of them report reaching it with SOME COLLEGE AND NO DEGREE, against 48% with a bachelor's and 14% with a master's. ⚠⚠ The rung below, computer systems analyst, is $105,850 across 521,100 jobs. This is the best-paid management occupation on the site and one of the most credential-loose.

See every career in BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES →

Courses along this path

Selected, not exhaustive — the courses specific to this path plus the foundations it is built on. A course number does not identify a course in Florida: always check your own institution's catalog and take a syllabus to an adviser.

HFT1000 —Introduction to Hospitality Management Guide

⚠ Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism — 21 Florida public institutions, by far the most widely carried course in the field and available at state colleges across the state. The cheap way to test the subject.

HFT2750 —The Event Industry Request a guide

The Event Industry — 13 institutions. ⚠ Named because event planning as a DEGREE exists at only two Florida institutions, so this course is how most people get the coursework without relocating to Orlando.

HFT2500 —Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Guide

⚠⚠ Hospitality and Tourism Marketing — 10 institutions. Revenue management lives here, and it is the highest-leverage and most transferable skill in the industry.

HFT2600 —Hospitality Law Request a guide

Hospitality Law — 10 institutions. Liability, alcohol, accessibility and employment law, all of which a manager carries personally.

HFT1410 —Front Office Management Guide

Front Office Management — 9 institutions. The operational core of lodging, and the department most managers come up through.

HFT2220 —Hospitality Human Resources Management Request a guide

Human Resource Management for Hospitality — 7 institutions. Scheduling and turnover are the daily reality of the job, and this is where they are taught as a discipline rather than a problem.

HFT2942 —Hospitality Internship Request a guide

⚠⚠ Hospitality Internship II — 10 institutions. In an industry that hires on demonstrated shifts rather than transcripts, the placement is the credential.

⚠ ⚠ Also numbered HFT2949 Internship Exploration and Work Experience at 7 institutions. Register by number.

FSS2500 —Food and Beverage Cost Control Request a guide

⚠ Food Service Costing and Controls — 6 institutions. Food cost and labour cost are what a food service manager is measured on, and this is the single most directly employable course on the page.

FSS2248C —Garde Manger Request a guide

Garde Manger — 7 institutions, the most widely carried culinary course in the state. Named for students heading to the kitchen side rather than the office.

⚠ ⚠ The culinary programmes themselves are coded under culinary arts, which this site cannot yet represent — see the chef path when it lands.

FSS2284C —Catering, Banquet and Event Management Guide

Food Preparation for Catered Events — 6 institutions including UCF. The practical bridge between the culinary and event sides.

ACG2021 —Financial Accounting Guide

Financial Accounting — 32 institutions. Hospitality is a margin business and a manager who cannot read a P&L does not get a second property.

MAR2011 —Principles of Marketing Guide

Principles of Marketing — 24 institutions, all state colleges. Useful here for the demand and pricing content.

⚠ ⚠⚠ A 2000-level course cannot supply upper-division hours toward a Florida baccalaureate. If a hospitality bachelor's is the plan, check whether your programme wants MAR3023 instead — see the Marketing Manager path.

SPC1017 —Fundamentals of Speech Communication Guide

Fundamentals of Speech Communication — 16 institutions. Service recovery, staff briefing and client presentation are the job in three different registers.

ENC1101 —English Composition I Guide

English Composition I — 39 institutions. Required for any degree route, and incident reports and contracts are written documents with consequences.

SPN1120 —Elementary Spanish I Request a guide

⚠ Elementary Spanish I — named for Florida specifically. In Miami, Orlando and most Florida kitchens and housekeeping departments, Spanish is an operational skill rather than a cultural one, and managers who have it supervise better.

⚠ ⚠ Florida numbers beginning Spanish several ways (SPN1120, SPN1130C, SPN1000). Any of them serves the purpose.

Where you can take these courses in Florida

39 Florida public institutions teach courses on this path. The count is how many of the 15 listed courses each one carries — it shows where the path is best covered. It is not a statement that a school offers this as a degree; for that, check the institution’s own programme list.

IRSC

Indian River State College

12 of 15

Valencia College

12 of 15

DSC

Daytona State College

11 of 15

SSCF

Seminole State College of Florida

11 of 15

NWFSC

Northwest Florida State College

10 of 15

PBSC

Palm Beach State College

10 of 15

PESC

Pensacola State College

10 of 15

SPC

St. Petersburg College

10 of 15

Broward College

9 of 15

Hillsborough College

8 of 15

MDC

Miami Dade College

8 of 15

PSC

Polk State College

8 of 15

CFK

The College of the Florida Keys

8 of 15

College of Central Florida

7 of 15

SCFMS

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

7 of 15

UCF

University of Central Florida

7 of 15

FSWSC

Florida Southwestern State College

6 of 15

FSCJ

Florida State College at Jacksonville

6 of 15

TSC

Tallahassee State College

6 of 15

FGC

Florida Gateway College

5 of 15

FGCU

Florida Gulf Coast University

5 of 15

FIU

Florida International University

5 of 15

FSU

Florida State University

5 of 15

GCSC

Gulf Coast State College

5 of 15

LSSC

Lake-Sumter State College

5 of 15

EFSC

Eastern Florida State College

4 of 15

FAU

Florida Atlantic University

4 of 15

NFC

North Florida College

4 of 15

SFC

Santa FE College

4 of 15

FAMU

Florida A & M University

3 of 15

FLPOLY

Florida Polytechnic University

3 of 15

PHSC

Pasco-Hernando State College

3 of 15

SFSC

South Florida State College

3 of 15

SJRSC

St. Johns River State College

3 of 15

University of Florida

3 of 15

UNF

University of North Florida

3 of 15

USF

University of South Florida

3 of 15

UWF

University of West Florida

2 of 15

NCF

New College of Florida

1 of 15

Sources

Requirements change. These are the authorities that decide them — check them directly before committing to a route.

O*NET — Lodging Managers (11-9081.00) — ⚠ 52,000 employed (2024), median $69,250 (2025), 5,400 annual openings, growth average (3% to 4%). Education: 72% of employers report a bachelor's degree required. Tasks include resolving guest complaints about policies and services, setting room rates and departmental budgets, coordinating between managers, and supervising staff performance.
O*NET — Food Service Managers (11-9051.00) — ⚠⚠⚠ The comparison this page turns on: 352,800 employed — SEVEN TIMES lodging management — median $69,390, within $140 of it, with 42,000 annual openings against 5,400, and growth faster than average (5% to 6%). ⚠ Education 30% high school diploma, 21% postsecondary certificate, 19% associate degree. The bigger, faster-growing half of the industry does not ask for the degree.
O*NET — Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners (13-1121.00) — 155,800 employed, median $61,160 (2025), 15,500 annual openings, growth faster than average (5% to 6%), and only 41% of employers reporting a bachelor's. ⚠ Set that against Florida's supply: event planning as a degree exists at TWO public institutions, 140 of the 157 credentials being UCF bachelor's — so most event planners did not come through a specialist programme.
IPEDS Completions 2023 (C2023_A) — CIP 52.09 — ⚠⚠ Hospitality Administration/Management (52.0901): 22 Florida public institutions, 1,745 credentials — 1,206 bachelor's, 320 master's, 159 associate. ⚠⚠⚠ FIU 667 and UCF 590 are 72% of the state total; FSU 224, Valencia 64, FAU 51. Hotel/Motel Administration (52.0904): 251 at 12 institutions, ALL certificates. Restaurant/Food Services (52.0905): 105 at 13. Meeting and Event Planning (52.0907): 157 at just 2, 140 of them UCF bachelor's. Resort Management (52.0906): 68, FGCU alone.
Florida Course Repository — documented HFT prefix divergences — ⚠⚠⚠ This project's own catalogue work found HFT among Florida's most confused prefixes. HFT4274: statewide title Resort Management, but FGCU teaches Vacation Ownership and Timeshare and FIU Short-Term Rental — two carriers agreeing against the state label. HFT4252: title says employee wellbeing, description is hotel management, carriers split one each. ⚠ HFT3271: statewide Condo/Resort Management, carriers teach nightclub, club and spa management — four readings, none the statewide one.
SCNS statewide course file — HFT and FSS — HFT1000 Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism is carried by 21 Florida public institutions, the widest in the field; HFT2750 The Event Industry by 13; HFT2500 Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and HFT2600 Hospitality Law by 10 each; HFT2942 Hospitality Internship II by 10. ⚠ On the culinary side FSS2248C Garde Manger reaches 7 and FSS2500 Food Service Costing and Controls 6. 682 HFT and FSS course identifiers are carried by Florida public institutions in total.

Last updated 23 September 2026.